Letter was ignorant, deeply misguided

Published: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 9:43 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 9:43 a.m.

This letter is a reply to a letter from Gloria V. Arceneaux on Arizona’s immigration law. Your piece on the law is not only ignorant but also deeply misguided. Your reasoning for your support of the law is flawed. Your white privilege is blinding you. I suggest you read about the holocaust and really dissect the events leading up to it — the misinformation, stereotypes and discriminatory notions of the Jews, then how they were forced to carry their “papers” with them. We all know how that story ends, and it wasn’t pretty. While there may never be a Hitler in this country, there are still plenty of Americans with his ideology, a lot of them with guns and who are willing to “protect” their country from the invaders, the invaders who are brown like me and my family. Don’t be surprised when the brown people are overcrowding the jails and cemeteries in Arizona and the lawsuits over racial profiling are racking up.

Hypothetically speaking, imagine a law enacted in your state where people of your age were seen as menaces to society, say, because of the absences that come with age. And imagine this law called for the internment of anyone over the age of 65. You would be taken away if you didn’t have your “papers,” even if you were 58. There is no way you can truly hide your age from the law, the same way I can’t hide my heritage. Do the ends really justify the means? I don’t think so.

This law is flawed on every basic human level. If you fail to see that and what it will lead to, you really need to reread some history books.

<p>This letter is a reply to a letter from Gloria V. Arceneaux on Arizona's immigration law. Your piece on the law is not only ignorant but also deeply misguided. Your reasoning for your support of the law is flawed. Your white privilege is blinding you. I suggest you read about the holocaust and really dissect the events leading up to it — the misinformation, stereotypes and discriminatory notions of the Jews, then how they were forced to carry their “papers” with them. We all know how that story ends, and it wasn't pretty. While there may never be a Hitler in this country, there are still plenty of Americans with his ideology, a lot of them with guns and who are willing to “protect” their country from the invaders, the invaders who are brown like me and my family. Don't be surprised when the brown people are overcrowding the jails and cemeteries in Arizona and the lawsuits over racial profiling are racking up.</p><p>Hypothetically speaking, imagine a law enacted in your state where people of your age were seen as menaces to society, say, because of the absences that come with age. And imagine this law called for the internment of anyone over the age of 65. You would be taken away if you didn't have your “papers,” even if you were 58. There is no way you can truly hide your age from the law, the same way I can't hide my heritage. Do the ends really justify the means? I don't think so.</p><p>This law is flawed on every basic human level. If you fail to see that and what it will lead to, you really need to reread some history books.</p><p>Abel Morfin</p><p>San Francisco</p>